Graduates of IMF emergency loan programmes accepted the Fund's admission that it miscalculated the cost of austerity with a mix of schadenfreude and frustration that the change came too late to spare them economic pain. Countries such as Argentina, Indonesia and South Korea, which were required to make deep budget cuts in exchange for tens

German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble said on Sunday that Greece would not default, but warned that if Athens did exit the eurozone it would be damaging not only for the zone as a whole but also for Greece. "I think, it will not happen that there will be a state bankrupt in Greece," Schaeuble said

U.S. exports to Iran rose by nearly a third this year, chiefly because of grain sales, according to U.S. data released last week, despite the tightening of U.S. financial sanctions. The jump to $199.5 million in the first eight months of 2012 from $150.8 million a year earlier, according to Census Bureau data, is surprising

Microsoft Corp on Monday announced that Xbox Music, a digital music service to vie with Apple Inc's iTunes and Amazon.com Inc's Cloud Player, will be available for its Xbox game consoles on Tuesday. The service will be expanded to Windows software-based computers and tablets, including the upcoming Surface tablet, from Oct. 26, when Microsoft launches

Losing ground to Republican Mitt Romney on a host of issues, President Barack Obama faces a serious challenge to put his re-election bid back on track when the two men face off on Tuesday in their second debate. Obama's passive performance in their first debate two weeks ago and Romney's subsequent surge have raised expectations

Asian shares fell on Monday on growth concerns ahead of the third-quarter corporate earnings season, while the euro slipped against the dollar on a lack of clarity over Spain's bailout prospects. As risk-sensitive assets retreated, the dollar index measured against a basket of six major currencies gained 0.3%, undermining dollar-denominated commodities. The euro slipped 0.3%

Burberry hopes it can gain better control over its brand and eventually a bigger slice of profits by running its own perfume business, a big gamble that could change the structure of the luxury goods industry if others follow suit. Like most luxury firms, the British brand licenses its perfume business, in this case to